


We Can't Escape Ourselves

by hithelleth



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Prompt Fill, Romance, Uncle/Niece Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-17
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-11-29 09:27:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hithelleth/pseuds/hithelleth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After escaping Monroe, Miles and Charlie deal with their feelings for each other. Post 1 x 10 ‘Nobody’s Fault but Mine’, but I ignored some of the known things about what will happen next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Brought Me back to Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night after escaping from Monroe, Miles keeps watch and reflects on his feelings for Charlie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the nbc_revolution lj community Valentine’s bingo-a-thon prompt.

They escaped. It was nothing short of a miracle, with Monroe’s chopper firing at them. But they did. Running, finding cover wherever they could until they reached the woods, and then going on and on, as far away from Philadelphia as possible, only stopping for two short breaks.

Only when the clouds concealed the old Moon, the darkness in which they couldn’t see more than two feet in front of them forced them to camp for the night. In a shallow basin, sheltered from three sides, they made a small fire to keep them warm. Miles took over the watch and no one objected, not even Nora, everyone exhausted to the point that they just collapsed around the fire and fell asleep the minute they hit the ground.

Miles wasn’t sure he would be able to sleep, anyway, not after a day like this, but he didn’t want to risk dozing off while leaning against a tree trunk. But at least he could give his legs some rest, so he chose a clear, raised spot a little away from the fire, with a good view out of the hollow, and sat down with his sword across his knees.

Nora and Aaron were the furthest away on the outer side, lying head to head, legs in the opposite directions. Rachel and Danny were closer by, side by side, and he could hear a whistle in his nephew’s breathing. He had expected Charlie to stick to her brother, but seeing which spot he had picked for his watch, the girl curled on the nearest side of the fire, facing him, and closed her eyes.

Miles sighed. It was supposed to be an irritated sound, but it didn’t come out quite that way. Luckily, nobody could hear him. What was he supposed to do now, after today, or was it already yesterday? Particularly, what was he supposed to do with Charlie? He remembered that stupid bright smile she had given him as he had come running out of the compound and it had tugged at something inside him, something he didn’t want to acknowledge, something he shouldn’t have acknowledged.

When she had come to Chicago, he had thought her pretty, someone he would have spared an hour or a few if he had been in that kind of mood. She had turned out to be his niece.

He had resented her for playing the family card, dragging him on this journey. He still wanted to resent her. For making him remember all the things he had done wrong. For making him feel guilty. For pulling him off the road to oblivion he had chosen to take, drinking himself to numbness. For making him feel.

He had planned to ditch her at the first chance. He’d almost had. She had been an annoying, naïve girl, who had known nothing about the world. But then two things had changed. He found himself wishing to be able to see the things the way she did, to be the better man again. And she was growing up in front of his eyes by the day, started accepting things for what they were, becoming stronger for each experience that hurt her. Sure, she still drove him nuts more often than not, but he was unable to turn his back on her.

That was why he had almost broken when he had been face to face with Bass. In his mind, where no one could hear it, he could still call him that. He remembered his head spinning back in Monroe’s D & R complex. When Bass’ offer had overlapped with the hallucination from the tunnels, he had almost said yes. But Charlie had been counting on him and he had felt like a string pulled from two ends until it snaps in half. He had chosen Charlie. He had seen it in Bass’ eyes – the moment he had said too much for Bass to handle. Maybe he would have done more good for Charlie, for everyone, had he decided differently. But, what was done was done. He would pay for that. They all would. Yet, at that moment he couldn’t betray Charlie. Not after she had believed in him even when she had learned the most horrible things about him.

He had expected her to call him a monster, to not want anything to do with him when she had found out about his role with the militia. He had expected her to leave, run. Only, she hadn’t. Instead, it had been her who had reassured him, who had made him believe he could be the man she would have called good.

The amount of faith this girl had in him terrified him. Because if she had known what kind of a man he really was, she would have run and never looked back. If she had known what he thought about her, what he felt, what he wanted.

Miles shook his head and got up to stretch his legs before they cramped. He looked at Charlie, her face half-covered by those long sandy curls he wanted to run his fingers thorough –.

Miles stopped dead in his tracks. He shouldn’t have been thinking this. He shouldn’t have been noticing the way her body curved or the soft swell of her breasts under her shirt and he certainly shouldn’t have craved to feel their weight in his hands. He shouldn’t have been wondering what her lips, so damn distracting when she pouted or smiled, tasted like.

Charlie stirred in her sleep, finding a better position.

He was overwhelmed by the way she trusted him. It was what made it impossible for him to betray her. But he would. No, not betray. But he would leave. She had her brother now and Rachel. Rachel was a survivor and they had Aaron – funny how that had become something positive – and Nora. Charlie would be all right without him. He would make sure they got somewhere safe and then he would leave. He had to. Because Charlie could never find out these things he felt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta’d, so quibble away if you see something. Comments are always welcome.


	2. I Will Hold You Close to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miles and Charlie get separated from the rest of the group on the run from the militia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the nbc_revolution lj community Valentine’s bingo-a-thon prompt. There was also [this photo](http://hithelleth.tumblr.com/post/43474090546/revolutionfan-omg-more-pics).

Three days after the escape, a local militia company got on their tracks in a village where they went to replenish their supplies. Seeing Miles breaking away from them, Charlie guessed he intended to draw the cavalry after him and hurried to his side.  

She got yelled at.

“What the hell are you doing!?”

“You can’t take on all of them by yourself!”

Even between the two of them it was hard enough.

Miles distracted them, so Charlie could get to a shooting distance. She was long beyond having qualms about having to kill. Aim, shoot, repeat. It was either them or she and Miles. She took down four while Miles took care about two, which still left three. A pair got too well acquainted with the wrong end of Miles’ sword, but the last one managed to pin Charlie to the ground and she thought that was it when Miles ran him through from behind.

After that they ran. Miles said Nora would know where to lead the others to meet them. The last time Charlie saw them they were disappearing into the woods on the other side after a couple of Nora’s grenades had hindered the pursuers.

It was Miles who started to worry Charlie as they went on. For once she didn’t seem to have any trouble matching his speed and that said something. His step was heavy and unsteady.

“What?” he snapped, noticing her concerned glances.

“We should find a place to camp for the night.”

“We should keep moving.” He cursed, stumbling as his foot hit a tree root.

“You’ve hardly slept since the tunnels. You can’t go on like that.”

“I’m fine.” He staggered again and sputtered: “Goddamnit, Charlie, just shut the fuck up!”

“No, you shut up and listen to me.” She caught him by the elbow, making him stop. “It’s getting dark and you can barely walk.”

“Doesn’t matter, I have to get you farther away, somewhere safer.”

“You’re gonna hurt yourself and that won’t make either of us much safer, will it?”

Miles didn’t respond, continuing on their way.

“Fine,” he gritted a few minutes later, “when we find a good place, we’ll stop.”

In an hour or so they hit upon the remnants of a small cabin, the roof caved in years ago. Huddled in the corner of the two most stable looking walls they made a fire and had a few bites.

“I’m keeping watch. I’ll wake you if there’s anything suspicious.” Charlie looked at Miles, slumped against the wall, expecting either objections or a handful of warnings. However, Miles’ head had dropped to the side and he seemed to have fallen asleep.

Charlie tried to ease him onto the floor, ending up with his head in her lap. She didn’t have the heart to risk waking him. She placed her crossbow beside her so she could grab it easily and leaned back against the wall.

She brushed his hair off his forehead, sighing quietly. The potency of emotion she had for Miles was something that scared her when she had time to think about it. She wouldn’t have thought it possible in the beginning.

She _had been_ underwhelmed by him, just as he had said. An uncaring drunk was a disappointment, a former militia general another one. However, somewhere amidst snapping at her and showing his displeasure about almost anything, they grew close. He helped her, protected her. He began letting go a bit, actually listened to her, did the best he could even without her asking. She learned to read him, to discern how he felt or what he thought solely on his facial expressions. She saw him struggling to stay while he wanted to bail on her, probably just to drink himself to death in another godforsaken joint like the one in Chicago. And she was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, to see the matters from his side.

Charlie knew he was hurting, noticed the pain this whole thing with Monroe was inflicting on him. She had lied about not caring. She cared. She just couldn’t understand. It was Monroe, for god’s sake. On the other hand, she had never had a best friend. So she _couldn’t_ understand. But she understood pain, loss, grief. She just couldn’t let him fall apart, because she didn’t know what to do without him.

Yet, it wasn’t just that he always seemed to figure something out even when he didn’t know what to do. It was so much more than just about company and help. There were things that shouldn’t have been making her feel the way they were. The way she admired his ability to fight – the agility, the speed, even the ruthlessness. The way she was taunted by how he licked his lips when mad or thoughtful. The way her heart sped up whenever his touch lingered on her. Of course, it was just a caring gesture for him, nothing more. It shouldn’t have been, anyway.

Charlie looked at Miles. She would have to move soon, her thigh starting to hurt already. But not just yet. It was probably the longest they had been this close. She gently touched his cheek, wondering how the scrape of stubble would feel on her skin, how it would feel having his hands really on her…

Miles mumbled something, clearing his throat in his sleep, waking. Charlie tensed, waiting. Miles blinked, only realising his position after a few moments.

“What are you doing?” He propped himself up on his elbows, probably a lot more slowly than he would have any other time, still drowsy.

“You’ve basically passed out.”

“Oh.” Miles sat up. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Go back to sleep.”

“Yeah.” He reached for his backpack to use it as a pillow and lay down, his back turned to her, blocking her into the corner, as if he were protecting her even when asleep. She knew it was subconscious, like earlier when she had gone with Miles on pure instinct. Rationalising it with the fact that he hadn’t stood a chance on his own only came later. The truth was she just couldn’t lose him.

If he had known how twisted she was, he would have left. And she couldn’t bear that. He confused and frustrated her, but he had come to mean so much to her, more than anyone else. She just wanted to keep him close. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta’d, so quibble away if you see something. Comments are always welcome.


	3. I'm Drowning in You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miles and Charlie shelter from the rain. 
> 
> _There was a sense of tension, although not an unpleasant one, building between them through the course of the evening._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the nbc_revolution lj community Valentine’s bingo-a-thon prompt.

It was raining for the second day in a row. More like pouring, actually. The forest could only offer so much shelter in this sort of weather. They had to get somewhere dry soon.

Charlie walked beside Miles, complaining much less than she had used to. He sometimes missed it. Since that night in the ruin, he was going back through the time they had spent together, summoning up the little details he hadn’t paid much attention to at the time: the way she looked at him, the way she smiled, how she didn’t shy away from his proximity. It was ridiculous, really. He wasn’t even sure, groggy as he had been that night at the ruin, that he hadn’t just imagined it, her caressing his face. Even so, it was probably just an innocent act, something she would have done out of affection, especially when being worried about him. Damn, even if it had been more than that, she was still his niece. Nothing had changed.

What mattered now was that they needed to get from the rain before they got sick. He was hoping the militia wouldn’t find them in these parts, although one could never be certain.

A few hours later they came across a cabin. And one in a decent shape, with a roof and all windowpanes in one piece, at that. Of course, the door had been broken in and anything valuable or useful that could be carried had been long gone. But it offered a good shelter. It had a stove and a fireplace, and Miles tore the floorboards from one of the rooms to make fire in both. Since it was quite a distance away from civilisation, it had no power even before the blackout, but it had something better – its water heating system was connected to the stove, which meant they could have a proper wash. All Miles had to do was turn over the water collector that was outside, rinse it, and then let it fill with fresh rainwater, which didn’t take long.

There was also some furniture, bulky enough nobody had bothered with it: a table and two benches and even a bed with an intact mattress – that is, as intact as it could be, but good enough for sleeping on. They latched the door and pushed a drawer, a heavy, massive thing, in front of it.

Charlie had shot a pair of rabbits on the way and with some improvisation they made a decent meal, with leftovers to last another day or two. While waiting for their dinner to cook, they washed and changed their clothes. Charlie then thoroughly rinsed their soaked ones and arranged them around the fireplace. Since their spare clothes got damp in the humid weather as well, they moved the table and the bench closer to the fireplace to dry up.

They ate in silence, at least for one night as safe and comfortable as they could be, considering the situation. However, there was a sense of tension, although not an unpleasant one, building between them through the course of the evening.

Having eaten, they both stood from the table at the same time, misjudging which way the other would go, bumping right into each other.

Charlie swayed and Miles caught her hips to steady her.

Suddenly, they were standing so close, flush against each other, and he forgot how to let her go.  His brain told him to move away, but his limbs just didn’t work. He felt her nipples harden, brushing against him.

Charlie looked up at him, her lips just slightly ajar, only inches away. It was too easy to bend down and press his lips on hers. When she didn’t flinch, he kissed her – just a short, soft kiss on the lips before he moved away.

He made a step back, but Charlie gripped his arms, stopping him.

“Don’t,” she breathed.

“Charlie?”

They studied each other for a few moments. There was no denying now of how they felt, no way back. They had kissed and neither of them was running.

It felt right, more right than anything Miles had felt for a long time. But it was still wrong, so he put it out there, like he was supposed to. Charlie’s response surprised him.

“Yes,” she agreed. “But of all the things I care about whether they are right or wrong, this isn’t one of them.”

Miles shook his head.

“Charlie… there are so many things about which I don’t care if they are right or wrong. But this is the one I should.”

He brushed his knuckles against her cheek, ever so lightly. She leaned into his touch and the last part of resistance was gone. He was going to hell anyway, why not do it thoroughly. So he gave in and kissed her again, properly this time, and she melted in his arms.

“You sure you want this?” He had to ask, make sure, before they went any further, because she was the last person in the world he wanted to hurt.

Charlie didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her.

They took it slow at first, Miles so very careful as if he were afraid he could break her. It was only a little awkward and it got easier as they became more familiar with each other. And it was good. It hurt, but it was also good, better than Charlie had imagined.

They lost themselves in each other, in a tide of feeling and sensation. She was burning in his arms, whimpering as the muscles inside her clenched and she came apart for him, which pushed him over the edge soon after.

After they dressed and lay down to sleep, Miles pulled her back into his arms.

“You won’t be sorry tomorrow, will you?” she asked him, watching him as he replied.

“No.” He paused. “It’s me that should be asking you.”

Charlie snuggled closer. “No, I won’t be either.”

He sighed, tightening his arms around her. It may have been wrong, but it was right for them. They belonged together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta’d, so quibble away if you see something. Comments are always welcome.


End file.
